Sunday, July 31, 2005

A Retreat Of Sorts

Well, I just got back yesterday afternoon from a church Ladies' Retreat. Its an annual retreat that Michigan District of the United Pentecostal Church puts on. I always have a great time there, and this year was no exception.
Although my original plans for staying with some friends fell through, I managed to get a hotel room with my sister's church group and got to spend alot of quality time with my little sis, Katie.
We shared a room with two just-out-of-their-teens who couldn't seem to go to sleep before 2:30 or 3:00 a.m. (That was the ONLY negative to the trip, that I could see.)
Scott insisted that he wanted me to come home well-rested. HA!!! Men do NOT understand that a Ladies' Retreat is not a restful experience. Its definitly a get-away, but rest doesn't factor in at ALL.
There were several speakers at the retreat that were very uplifting and encouraging, and I came away refreshed, if not rested up. :)

We stayed in the Amerihost Inn in Marshall, Michigan. I highly suggest that NOONE stays there. Although it was clean, we had a couple interesting run-ins with housekeeping. First of all, we had four girls in our room, and they only gave us three towels. Katie called down to housekeeping on our second day there and asked for some more towels. "Don't you have towels in your room?" they asked. Katie said that yes, we did, however that we needed some more. She explained that we all had very long hair and required two towels apiece if possible. Housekeeping was not very understanding, but they did say that if we carried our dirty towels down to them, that they would "exchange" our towels for new ones. WHAT??? What kind of hotel has the customer bring their dirty towels down to the front desk? That was our first incident.
That afternoon, we came back to our rooms, expecting to see our beds made and our room vacuumed. However, the only thing that was clean was the bathroom. AND...in each of our rooms were notes explaining why housekeeping didn't make our beds.
Our note said something to the extent of, "We could not make your bed because your belongings were on it. Next time, if you want your bed made, REMOVE your belongings." Only one of the beds in our room even had anything on it! Katie and I had left our bed clear of belongings, but they didn't even bother to make it.
Katie's mother-in-law found her note on her bed (which was also bare of belongings). It said, "Consider this bed made." Talk about RUDE!
Anyway...I highly recommend that if you ever go to Marshall, Michigan, don't stay at the Amerihost. The Hampton Inn is very nice, as well as the Holiday Inn Express.
Save yourself some trouble and book rooms on the other side of Marshall from Amerihost! :)
Well, I'm off to choir practice, Sunday School and then church.
Ciao.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

A Word Fitly Spoken

Why this title, you might wonder? Hmmm...well...as a teenager I was absolutely FASCINATED by words and their meanings, origins, uses, etc. I wrote like crazy...poems, stories, articles, and even a very sappy book at the age of 14. I remember the first time I read this proverb in the Bible. I was amazed at the beauty of it.

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." Proverbs 25:11

Gorgeous words. Words that sparked my overactive imagination and caused me to want to write even more! And so I did. For years I kept up my writing and worked on becoming the best writer I could be. I had several stories and poems published in different church publications in the United States over a period of ten years. I sent out a Christmas story each year for about 12 years to all my friends and family. One year I sent out over 150 copies of a story. Every year, as the Christmas season came around, I would have multiple people remind me to send them a story.

Then, suddenly, the writing came to an abrupt stop. What happened? Well, first of all, I got married in May of 2000 to an absolutely wonderful man, Scott Lynn.
Secondly, I got pregnant the summer of 2001, and delivered a healthy 7lb. 11oz. baby girl on April 1st, 2002. Thirdly, I got pregnant AGAIN in the autumn of 2002, and delivered a VERY healthy 9lb. 4oz. baby girl on June 20th, 2003. Whew...lots of work, I tell ya!

So, as you can see, I've had a very busy five years. Five years of bliss and pain and three years of changing pooey diapers. Man! Am I EVER ready for potty training to end!

My husband suggested that I set up my own blogsite just tonight. And I took his advice, seeing a GREAT opportunity to keep writing! So, here it is...and I will endeavor to keep this site a lighthearted, inspiring and uplifting recording of my thoughts and writings.

Hopefully I will be able to always produce a "word fitly spoken".

May God bless and keep you always.

Kendra Lynn